Thursday, January 31, 2013

With Harper almost here, I know I won’t have time to write the long update posts on either girl like I’d want, but Hadley is at such a funny (and exhausting and trying) age that I want to be able to remember some of the funny things she says and does, so this will serve as a brain-dump type of post with our most recent Hadley-isms!

We went to CVS recently to get some medicine and buy some colic-calm to have on hand before Harper arrives. We were in the baby aisle and I turned around to find Hadley holding a giant package of diapers. She held it up to me and said “here, momma – baby harper prob-bee need dis.” {ha – yes honey, too bad they were pull-ups for kids your size!}

Our little negotiator constantly tells us “two minutes” and holds up her finger (with only 1 finger, mind you) anytime you tell her it’s about time to do something else (time to change your diaper, time to go take a bath, time to eat dinner, etc…)

Hadley will bring me my phone randomly during the day and demand: “mommy – tall nana” (call). And if nana isn’t available for facetime… a meltdown ensues

She loves to comment on the weather outside. If it’s breezy at all, as soon as we walk outside she exclaims “oooh! windy out-tide!” “burrrrrrr!”

This one has me a little worried for when baby sister arrives… Hadley will be playing with her baby doll and then will “drop” her or “accidentally” slam her head into the ground, then she’ll say “wah wah” like the baby is crying, all so that she can pick her up her baby to console her. And there are usually about 20 “momma, momma”s thrown in there to make sure I see that baby is hurt and that she is consoling her by hugging and rocking. Let’s just hope she doesn’t stage those “accidents” in order to console little sister

{we were watching Elmo on the couch together and sweet girl just laid her hand on my stomach and said “hi bay-bee haw-purr”}

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

I won’t even pretend to make excuses for how poorly I’ve been keeping up with the blog lately. But seeing as how I’m due in 2 weeks with little sister Harper, I figured I should post some type of pregnancy update along with a bump picture or two to document this pregnancy!

When I was pregnant with Hadley, I posted this survey every time I did an update, so I figured I’d use the same one, and try to include a little summary in each section from the majority of the pregnancy!

How Far Along: one day shy of 38 weeks

Total Weight Gain: Oh gosh, this one is bad. I think I’m close to 40lbs now? Crazy to think that at the beginning of this pregnancy I lost weight and didn’t even start gaining some back until around 13 weeks. Also – I can’t believe I’m posting that for all the world to see – but I do want to be able to look back on this and remember where I was at each point in the pregnancy…

Maternity Clothes: I think I started wearing maternity clothes around 20 weeks this pregnancy. Because I lost weight in the beginning, a lot of my maternity clothes from last time didn’t fit until then.

Best Moment this week: Spending 2 hours with a girlfriend getting our nails/toes done, sitting in a massage chair and chatting about our little girls! (she has one 5 months older than Hadley and is due 3 days after me.)

Gender: Still a girl for all we know! - Harper Kate:)

Movement: If Harper’s movement on the inside is any indication of what type of baby she’s going to be on the outside, we are in for it! She is CONSTANTLY moving. Those kick-count things the doctor tells you to do – takes me about 5 seconds to reach the movement count they want you to feel in an HOUR.

Food Craving: After being sick until about 20 weeks this pregnancy, I really didn’t have any true “cravings.” I cut caffeine out of my diet cold turkey for the first half of the pregnancy, but since then I’ve been allowing myself a chai tea, sweet tea or diet dr pepper when I want one!

Sleep: I had some insomnia in the beginning of this pregnancy, but chasing a toddler around while pregnant definitely helps with that. The biggest issue I have now is that Harper is so low that I think she’s just camped out on my bladder. I was up 5 times the other night to go to the bathroom.

Symptoms: Aches, pains and more aches and pains! I think I’m carrying Harper a lot lower than I carried Hadley, and because of that, my hips are constantly hurting. Walking around the grocery store is quite a feat these days!

That last picture is only 2 days off from the one before, but I was wearing the same outfit as one I wore in my pregnancy with Hadley so I thought it would be fun to compare. I think it’s pretty obvious how much lower I’m carrying Harper, yes?! Yikes!

Alright, now to continue checking things off my to-do list before little sister arrives! I have just a couple more final touches on her nursery and then I promise to share pictures!

Monday, January 14, 2013

This past weekend was Hadley’s 2nd birthday party! Even though we celebrated, just the three of us, her turning two on her actual birthday (the 3rd), we decided to wait an extra week to give everyone some time to unwind from the holidays (read: give me time to take down our Christmas decorations!) and give our families a short reprieve from driving to/from Dallas for Christmas.

I had visions months ago of throwing a “tu-tu cute” birthday party for our little two year old, but knowing how much she loves Elmo, I just had to cave into the character theme so we can remember this phase of life when we look back on pictures. There wasn’t a lot of elmo – just some cookies, stuffed elmos, books, and paper decorations, and the rest was just girly pink, orange and red polka dots! The party went so, so well, and we are feeling so incredibly blessed by the family and friends that God has placed in our lives. How lucky we are that so many people were willing to come and celebrate the life of our sweet little girl this weekend! So, without further adieu… party picture overload.

I used the same birthday banner that I had made for Hadley’s first birthday party (even though it didn’t really match). I just did not have the energy at 35 weeks pregnant to make another one! I found the elmo face “wands” on etsy and stuck them in vases with red, pink and white m&ms for centerpieces on the food table. Then just made some tissue poms for the cupcake/cookie table. I am so mad at myself for not getting better pictures of so many things. I did the exact same thing with her first party. Thankfully my sister came to the rescue and took a lot of pictures for me – I would have none of the décor/food if not for her!

I didn’t get any pictures on my good camera of the favors, either, which I was bummed about! Holly, from The Doughmestic Housewife made the cookies. I ordered cookies from her before for my sister’s lingerie shower and not only were they seriously the best decorated cookies I’d ever seen, they were DELICIOUS too! She’s actually expecting her 3rd little one right now, and I am so thankful that I’ve gotten to know her a bit (through social media) and she squeezed me in even though she’s really not taking orders right now! Thanks so much Holly!

This is one of the extra favors – just took a picture with my phone. And this one is actually a little different as the rest of them were slightly different buckets that had oval chalkboard labels on them so I could write each kid’s name. The buckets had goldfish, crayons and an elmo cookie in them (if you’ve ever seen an episode of Elmo’s World, you know why they got goldfish and crayons…if you haven’t…enjoy not having that song stuck in your head.)

The party started at 4:30, so we served an early dinner. I didn’t get a full picture of the food, but we had a Chick-Fil-A nugget tray, Chick-Fil-A chicken salad sandwich tray, PB&J sandwiches, chips/dip, Elmo face fruit plate, veggie plate, pretzel/kiss/m&m’s, cupcakes and cookies.

Two things about this next picture. First – this Elmo book she got from my grandma was an instant hit! She pulled it out of the box and just plopped down to start reading it and sat and read the whole book! Second – how adorable is her outfit? My friend, Hether – of Ditsy Daisy Boutique, made the shirt and Hadley and I both love it! As soon as I pulled it out to put on her she said “oooooh! Melmo shirt! How pitty! (pretty)” Thanks Hether!!

And a real life picture for you… this is what it typically looks like to capture a picture with a two year old…

As you can tell, the ice cream set she got for her birthday was a huge hit… as was this tunnel!

Hadley’s second Christmas was a blessed one indeed! We had Matt’s side of the family come and stay with us over Christmas and then my family came up over new years. Between that and Hadley’s birthday party just a week and a half later, sweet girl is going to start thinking that presents are a regular occurrence!

I don’t really have a lot to talk about, but I did want to share our pictures, so prepare for picture overload!

This was Christmas Eve before church – just playing with her Little People Manger. And below – checking out her ornaments on the tree.

Christmas morning – the first thing she went to was her table & chairs set, which was her big Santa gift.

Helping to pass out presents to grandpa and mimi…

After we opened presents, it started to snow! It was so fun having a white Christmas! This was the view out our front door…

One of Hadley’s favorite “toys” was this giant box that her little sister’s glider came in, so we left it out for awhile to play in. She made daddy, Mimi and aunt Kelly get in the box here!

Just doing a little texting with Nana to see when she was going to arrive to celebrate our second Christmas. ;)

Picture perfect for Christmas #2! I love having a wood burning fireplace (our last house was just gas).

Playing with her makeup set that Nana got her. She is alllll girl.

Ummm, are y’all sure this one is for me? I think this is a box of beer? (Aunt Katie & Uncle Eric ran out of boxes )

I think daddy might be more excited about this rocking horse than Hadley is in this picture. ;)

It only took me 2 1/2 weeks to get a Christmas recap up… maybe I’ll do better next year. Up next… birthday pictures!

About Me

I am a follower and child of Christ, a wife to a wonderful husband, stay-at-home mom to two beautiful girls, a daughter, a sister, a teacher, baker, cook, and a wannabe decorator. Thanks for stopping by while I chronicle our lives together!